CNN has not been able to independently confirm the report. But if true, it will fuel the anger of families still waiting to hear the fate of 287 passengers still missing at sea.
Video acquired by affiliate JTBC showed at least 12 of the white survival capsules still attached to the ferry, even as it was keeled over in the water. The survival capsules hold the lifeboats.
More than 24 hours have passed since the 6,800-ton ferry sank Wednesday morning.
Nine people are dead. At least 179 have been rescued.
But no one knows whether the missing 287 are alive, perhaps on the ship, or if they succumbed to the water about 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit.)
The captain of the ferry broke down in tears when asked if he had anything to say to the missing passengers' families.
"I am sorry, I am at a loss for words," captain Lee Joon Suk said. He sat at a coast guard station with his head and face covered, facing possible charges of negligence and accidental homicide.
How did this happen?
No one knows exactly why the ship sank.